Mail Art Exchange!
Hi folks!
We are excited to get our Mail Art Exchange started. Please take a look at the information below for some details about participation and guidelines. More information to come soon!
Participation
If you would like to participate in our Mail Art Exchange, please let us know in our #mail-art-exchange Slack channel - you can post a simple “I’m in!” or “I would like to participate!” or something similar. This channel is also a great space to ask questions about the project.
Please let us know that you would like to participate by Monday September 12, 2022.
After we know who will be participating, we will ask you to complete our Mail Art Exchange form, where you will provide us with your address, and let us know if you have questions or need assistance with the cost of postage. Please complete this form by Saturday September 24, 2022.
Once we collect addresses and related information, we will create a list of 5 residents (along with their addresses) for each person participating in the exchange.
Instructions
For our mail art exchange please create 5 pieces of art that can be sent through the mail (ideally postcard sized, or standard letter sized.) Here are a few guidelines:
Create a piece of mail art for each resident in your list. They can be all the same, or unique to the individual artist. (We have assigned 5 residents to you, so you do not need to create something for the whole cohort.)
If you will be making a piece of work that can not be sent via postal mail, such as sound or video artworks, we recommend creating a way to send an “invitation” to view the artwork via mail, like a secret web address or QR code, so the actual artwork can be accessed online.
Please also include the appropriate accessibility features with the artwork:
For visual art: A short artwork description written on the back of the "postcard" in the space where one would usually write a message to the recipient.
For Time Based Media: Please include a sound or video description on the postcard or invitation, and captioning and/or transcript where appropriate.
For Writing + Poetry: You might consider creating a recorded reading of the work; when you send the written work, you can include a QR code or web address to access the recording.
The Artwork Description guides are a great resource for creating these!
Send out your mail art sometime in October or early November. (We are hoping everyone will have received mail art by the time we take our break in December.)
Once you’ve received an artwork from another cohort member, you can post it on Instagram (tagging @SociallyDistantArt) and on our #mail-art-exchange Slack channel. (If you don't want your mail art to be shared by the recipient on social media and/or Slack, we will have a place for you to note that preference on the Mail Art Exchange form.)
Let Trish or Rae know if you have any questions! Happy art making!
Do you need assistance with the cost of postage?
If you would like to participate in the mail art exchange, but need assistance with the cost of postage, you can indicate this on the Mail Art Exchange form, and we will arrange to send you funds (via Venmos, Google Pay, etc.) to purchase some stamps.
Postage Costs (for standard letter size)
Within the US:
US to International Destination:
Within Canada:
Canada to International Destination:
Japan to International Destination:
Australia to International Destination:
China to International Destination:
Peru to International Destination:
Examples (from 2020 SDA Mail Art Exchange)
Coming Soon!